Hunter Todd Alexander (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
livefortoday) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
dreamlikenewyork2017-02-25 10:49 pm
livefortoday) wrote in dreamlikenewyork2017-02-25 10:49 pm
"Silence like a cancer grows."
Who: Hunter Alexander and Cruz Quinlan
What: Family emergency
Where: En-route to Vermont
When: After this
Cruz was woken by a phone call at 3am. Which was a bit of a miracle, considering he had spent his evening downing a couple of bottles of Australian red wine and dancing in his underwear to a couple of his favourite playlists. He had always been a night owl, but he found he had gotten used to having Hunter in his bed that without him there, it was harder to get to sleep. He gave up on trying.
The call was Hunter. Apparently someone had told him something about his little brother, and he wanted to drive to his home town in Vermont ASAP to talk to him. It sounded serious. Hunter sounded teary. Cruz felt his gut twist up with concern... of course he wouldn't have said no when Hunter asked if he wanted to come on the sudden road trip with him. Hunter said Darius was at work, so he wouldn't be able to go straight away. It meant a hell of a lot to Cruz that Hunter even invited him, and he had asked why. Simple fact of the matter was that Hunter wanted his company, but also suggested Cruz could meet his folks.
Cruz really surprised himself in not being freaked out by this prospect. Perhaps because the situation meant there was a teenager who could well be having a tough enough time that his big brother wanted to drop everything and drive five hours to get to him. Brody was supposed to be living with Hunter and Darius because he was awarded a scholarship at an arts school in New York after winning a massive TV talent competition. But something went wrong. Something Hunter didn't detail in the phone call.
For the first hour of the trip, Hunter was quiet. Cruz wanted to offer to drive, but he actually didn't have an American driver's licence. Even if he did, he had too much booze in him. He regretted drinking so much, but he downed a couple of cups of strong coffee and took a cool shower before meeting Hunter outside. They stopped briefly at a diner for the bathroom and get some more coffee, and then hit the road again. "Do you want to talk about it, babe? I get if it's private, or you don't really want to talk. I'm just worried about you..."
Hunter took one hand from the steering wheel and rested it on Cruz's leg. "It's not that I don't want to talk to you about it. I'm just struggling to process it, if I'm honest. If it turns out to be what I fear it is, I feel like I've failed him. Like I should've seen the signs. I didn't. Justin did. But he only realised what he was seeing after he heard a rumour."
"About Brody?" Cruz asked. He put his hand over Hunter's entwining their fingers with a soft squeeze.
"Yeah. Like, Brody and Justin weren't significantly closely connected. I hope they could be. There were some mutual connections there, and Justin's squad has some really amazing kids in it. They all have each other's backs, and a lot of them aren't New York natives. They've come from a wide variety of places, for different reasons. It was all going okay, he seemed to be making friends. He was even scrutinizing his sexuality because he like one of the guys in the group. Then he just began to act strange. He pulled away from them, cut this other guy off completely by telling him he was pretty sure he didn't like guys after all. He stopped talking to them all, and it was only after Justin's text just now that I even noticed Brody's deleted his Facebook. Like, he used to be epic active on social media. He got a fuckton of followers from the competition. Justin thought he blocked him, but the account's completely gone," Hunter said with a sigh.
It definitely seemed like something had gone down with Hunter's brother. Cruz was frowning as he listened. As someone who had exposure and status himself, he knew public attention could be tough sometimes. "What, you think haters have gotten to him or something? Was he scared to come out?"
Hunter bit on his lower lip, but he shook his head. Not in denial of the question, but because he was still confused in the dark. "That's what I thought. Perhaps even more so after I met you and heard your story. I thought maybe he got spooked by his feelings for Jett. Darius and I both tried to talk to him a lot, but he withdrew more, and then the school counsellor called us and said Brody had been ditching class. It started as a day here and there, then he hadn't been in three weeks. That's why we had to send him back up to Mom and Dad for a little while. We thought if we couldn't help him, they would have to make any final decisions anyway. Brody didn't protest at all. Only now, Justin tells me there's been a rumour that Brody tried to come on to one of his female teachers, and she was thinking about pressing charges for assault. That's not Brodes."
"Not to try to prove he was straight?" Cruz had to ask. He didn't know Brody, and definitely wouldn't want to point fingers at an innocent kind, but Cruz himself knew that you could make fucked up choices when you were hiding and running scared of who you really were.
"You would think that could be a possibility. And that's what really fucking scares me he's going to be accused of. But it was what Justin said that I can't look past." Hunter paused, because he didn't know how to fill Cruz in here without revealing some of Justin's history. But Brody knew Justin's history because he had been there when Justin told his friends. Hunter remembered, because Brody had come home and broken down in tears because it had been quite triggering for the kids hear. Brody had always been a sensitive kid. "Can I absolutely trust you that none of what I saw here goes beyond this car?"
Cruz nodded, still looking at Hunter with a concerned frown. "I signed a confidentiality thing with Mark, as to Justin's privacy. He asked if I minded doing that, now he knew you and I were seeing each other. I had absolutely no issue with it at all. Not when you and Mark both have my privacy and best interests at heart. So, honestly, I wouldn't say anything at all anyway, because I know how priceless privacy is, but even if I did, he'd ruin me. I wouldn't. Not a kid's privacy. Especially not a kid who harms himself."
Hunter briefly closed his eyes, though only for a moment because he was still watching the road ahead. "Justin was sexually abused as child. It went on for many months when he was about eight or nine years old. It was one of his biological mother's many boyfriends. He's incredibly scarred by it, and it is absolutely why his mental illness is so severe. It caused him PTSD. He's been a messed up kid his whole life. None of this is public. This is what he referenced in his speech the other night. Then when he started Footloose, one of the guys who was cast in a supporting role sexual assaulted him. It triggered a bad psychotic episode. Justin got arrested before he was diagnosed with psychosis. All charges were dropped when the story started to come to light. The guy was a serial rapist. He's behind bars now. It's a long and complex story that I'll tell you about one day. It's all interlinked with the Lincoln Cole stabbing. Justin didn't tell anyone what the guy was doing to him because he was terrified he would lose the role. He let it keep going. That's what he said to me in his text tonight. That this rumour with Brody sounded like what happened to him. He also said he thought Brody might be cutting."
"You... you mean, the teacher assaulted Brody, not the other way around?" Cruz was reeling with these reveals coming from Hunter. Never in a million years would he have picked Justin as a sexual abuse survivor, but suddenly so much made sense. Justin had said there were reasons he was as sick as he was, but didn't say what. Cruz's stomach turned. "How can anyone do that to a kid? Fuck. That's why you need to get to Brody now. Before anything serious happens."
Hunter just nodded silently. It took a little bit before he replied. They were on a dark stretch of road. The mood was fitting. "Justin nearly suicided because of what happened. He couldn't see a way out. He cut his wrists for the first time. It wasn't too long after he got to New York. It was what lead to the bipolar diagnosis, ultimately. It was Mark's first experience with the severity of it. This is why Justin has such tight security and management. If he feels threatened or gets touched in a way he can't cope with, it triggers his fight or flight, and could push him into a psychotic episode. When he's had those, he's nearly jumped off balconies, or run in front of cars. He nearly strangled Mark in he cop shop. It's a literal snap he has. It's terrifying, but he doesn't remember it after it's happened. That's why I'm scared. Not because I think Brody is mentally ill, but because he might not see a way out if someone has hurt him. It would be his word against hers, and Brody's had a bit of a bad rap when his ego got a bit inflated."
"I noticed Justin had tattoos on his wrists. I think you're doing the right thing. Trying to get to him as soon as you heard about all this. You're panicked and terrified, I know. But he's your baby brother, and I know you'll try to help him as much as you can. You're not just picking up a phone and interrogating him about whether it happened. You're not assuming the rumour is true. Sometimes when shit is spiralling out of control, all you need is someone to listen to you or ask if you're okay when you're not," Cruz murmured. He didn't have siblings, so he couldn't know the depth of all this. Not directly. But he knew Hunter had been there for him in his darkest hour. "Don't beat yourself up with guilt, babe. I know that's easier said than done. If there's anything I can do..."
Hunter glanced at Cruz and then was cracking the window a little so he could have a cigarette. He didn't have a bad habit, but he smoked socially, or when he was stressed. He was definitely stressed. "Light up for me? Justin's ink on his wrists are lyrics to the Footloose song. It's ultimately what pulled him back, but yeah, they cover scars." He waited while Cruz lit the cigarette for him and then took it from him between his fingers to take a long drag. He blew the smoke out the window, and handed the cigarette back to Cruz so they could share it. "There is actually something. I just didn't want you to think it was the only reason I asked you to come. Brodes is a huge fan of yours. I'm kind of hoping you might be a bit of a buffer to help him engage with me."
Cruz had to admit he was needing a smoke himself but he didn't want to assume he could light up in Hunter's car. He wound his own window down slightly to vacuum the smoke out, and nodded as he put the cigarette to his lips. He tried not to think how sexy it was to see Hunter smoke for the first time. Now was not the time for that. "Sure. Just, like, sit there and be present type thing?"
Hunter smirked faintly at that. "At any other time, that would probably work. I was hoping you would be okay if I told him how we met, and that we're dating now. I... think Brody might have had a crush on another dancer. Possibly still does. But this other kid already has a boyfriend. I suspected it awhile back, but I didn't want to draw attention to if it he was confused. When he told us he thought maybe he might like guys, I wondered then. I don't know if all that is compounding on what is already upsetting. I just don't know."
"One of Justin's friends? Fuck, messy," Cruz agreed with a slight wince, holding the cigarette to Hunter's lips again for him.
"Yeah, a kid called Harry. He and Brody got into a punch-up at a dance competition." Hunter inhaled again from the cigarette, happy to let Cruz keep holding it. "Harry's a scarily talented ballet dancer. They were competing against each other at a National competition, and Harry beat Brody by quite a few points with a routine that was never got going to win. Ballet's a lot more technical than Hip Hop, and Harry's been dancing since he was basically a fetus. He was trained by one of the top male dancers in the world. Brody lost his shit when he was beaten and accused Harry of winning because he danced to a live recording Justin did for him of Chandelier. Justin said he could use it as thanks for Harry helping him with a flashmob. Brody worked so fucking hard on his routine, and Harry beat him. I think if he was crushing on Harry, getting beat by him was a hard blow. Then, of course, Harry hated him."
Cruz's heart was going out more and more for Brody right now. The poor kid sounded like he took a lot of hits that probably confused the fuck out of him and made him question everything about himself. "And Harry's in this squad of Justin's? You know, that could be why he's not fitting in. It might feel awkward as fuck for him if he still has these feelings for Harry, and Harry's dating someone else. Unrequited love fucking sucks. It's one of the worst feelings in the world, especially when you're a kid."
"Then compound on that a dance teacher potentially assaulting him, feeling he's losing his identity as a dancer, confused about his sexuality. Fuck, do you know how glad I am Justin contacted me, but I feel fucking sick inside for not seeing this. I'm trying not to let it eat me up, but it's not working," Hunter said and when he started to tear up, he actually had to pull over onto the side of the road and put his hazard lights on when his vision blurred up. He gripped the steering wheel and leaned over, resting his forehead against his knuckles. "This is what I do, and I couldn't even see it in my own little brother?"
Cruz stubbed the cigarette out on the sole of his boot and flicked the butt out the window. "Come here," he said softly and coaxed Hunter into a hug. "You're seeing it, babe. How were you to know? You're a fantastic nurse and youth worker, but fuck, you're not a mind reader. Let yourself off the hook, or this will eat you up and you'll cockblock yourself from being able to help him in the best way you can."
"I'm so fucking tired," Hunter mumbled in against Cruz's shoulder.
"Let's just stop here for an hour and you take a nap. Sixty more minutes won't make a difference and you'll get a second wind to go the rest of the way. Okay?" Cruz suggested, hoping like fuck Hunter wouldn't disagree. "You can just kick your chair back and get a kip, then we'll keep going. I'll wake you in an hour. Trust me? You've been doing nights, you're going to burn out."
Hunter sat back and sighed, rubbing his eyes slowly. "Okay. It's probably a good idea. I'm getting a fucking headache."
Cruz took his wallet out and pulled a strip of Tylenol from it. He snapped two of them into Hunter's palm. "Catch it now before it gets worse." He was taking his hoodie off too then, and balled it up for Hunter to use as a pillow."
Hunter swallowed the pills and cranked his seat back down as far as it would go, flicking his seatbelt off to try to get a bit more comfortable. He didn't know if he could wind his brain down to sleep, but he would try at least. He took Cruz's hand to hold and closed his eyes, trying to will himself to sleep. Cruz was right. He couldn't be stupid about this, and Vermont was five hours from home.
Cruz fell quiet, turning to his side in his seat and rested his head against the back of it. He sat there watching Hunter try to get some shut-eye. Even if he just managed ten minutes, it would be better than nothing. He was watching him so intently, he could tell the exact moment Hunter dozed off, his breath evening out and deepening. He was pretty sure in that moment that what he was feeling inside was the faint echo that he was beginning to fall in love with Hunter. He couldn't explain any of this, nor would he try. All he knew was that everything Hunter had just shared with him requested such a deep level of trust... trust that he clearly had in Cruz.
LOG, COMPLETE
What: Family emergency
Where: En-route to Vermont
When: After this
Cruz was woken by a phone call at 3am. Which was a bit of a miracle, considering he had spent his evening downing a couple of bottles of Australian red wine and dancing in his underwear to a couple of his favourite playlists. He had always been a night owl, but he found he had gotten used to having Hunter in his bed that without him there, it was harder to get to sleep. He gave up on trying.
The call was Hunter. Apparently someone had told him something about his little brother, and he wanted to drive to his home town in Vermont ASAP to talk to him. It sounded serious. Hunter sounded teary. Cruz felt his gut twist up with concern... of course he wouldn't have said no when Hunter asked if he wanted to come on the sudden road trip with him. Hunter said Darius was at work, so he wouldn't be able to go straight away. It meant a hell of a lot to Cruz that Hunter even invited him, and he had asked why. Simple fact of the matter was that Hunter wanted his company, but also suggested Cruz could meet his folks.
Cruz really surprised himself in not being freaked out by this prospect. Perhaps because the situation meant there was a teenager who could well be having a tough enough time that his big brother wanted to drop everything and drive five hours to get to him. Brody was supposed to be living with Hunter and Darius because he was awarded a scholarship at an arts school in New York after winning a massive TV talent competition. But something went wrong. Something Hunter didn't detail in the phone call.
For the first hour of the trip, Hunter was quiet. Cruz wanted to offer to drive, but he actually didn't have an American driver's licence. Even if he did, he had too much booze in him. He regretted drinking so much, but he downed a couple of cups of strong coffee and took a cool shower before meeting Hunter outside. They stopped briefly at a diner for the bathroom and get some more coffee, and then hit the road again. "Do you want to talk about it, babe? I get if it's private, or you don't really want to talk. I'm just worried about you..."
Hunter took one hand from the steering wheel and rested it on Cruz's leg. "It's not that I don't want to talk to you about it. I'm just struggling to process it, if I'm honest. If it turns out to be what I fear it is, I feel like I've failed him. Like I should've seen the signs. I didn't. Justin did. But he only realised what he was seeing after he heard a rumour."
"About Brody?" Cruz asked. He put his hand over Hunter's entwining their fingers with a soft squeeze.
"Yeah. Like, Brody and Justin weren't significantly closely connected. I hope they could be. There were some mutual connections there, and Justin's squad has some really amazing kids in it. They all have each other's backs, and a lot of them aren't New York natives. They've come from a wide variety of places, for different reasons. It was all going okay, he seemed to be making friends. He was even scrutinizing his sexuality because he like one of the guys in the group. Then he just began to act strange. He pulled away from them, cut this other guy off completely by telling him he was pretty sure he didn't like guys after all. He stopped talking to them all, and it was only after Justin's text just now that I even noticed Brody's deleted his Facebook. Like, he used to be epic active on social media. He got a fuckton of followers from the competition. Justin thought he blocked him, but the account's completely gone," Hunter said with a sigh.
It definitely seemed like something had gone down with Hunter's brother. Cruz was frowning as he listened. As someone who had exposure and status himself, he knew public attention could be tough sometimes. "What, you think haters have gotten to him or something? Was he scared to come out?"
Hunter bit on his lower lip, but he shook his head. Not in denial of the question, but because he was still confused in the dark. "That's what I thought. Perhaps even more so after I met you and heard your story. I thought maybe he got spooked by his feelings for Jett. Darius and I both tried to talk to him a lot, but he withdrew more, and then the school counsellor called us and said Brody had been ditching class. It started as a day here and there, then he hadn't been in three weeks. That's why we had to send him back up to Mom and Dad for a little while. We thought if we couldn't help him, they would have to make any final decisions anyway. Brody didn't protest at all. Only now, Justin tells me there's been a rumour that Brody tried to come on to one of his female teachers, and she was thinking about pressing charges for assault. That's not Brodes."
"Not to try to prove he was straight?" Cruz had to ask. He didn't know Brody, and definitely wouldn't want to point fingers at an innocent kind, but Cruz himself knew that you could make fucked up choices when you were hiding and running scared of who you really were.
"You would think that could be a possibility. And that's what really fucking scares me he's going to be accused of. But it was what Justin said that I can't look past." Hunter paused, because he didn't know how to fill Cruz in here without revealing some of Justin's history. But Brody knew Justin's history because he had been there when Justin told his friends. Hunter remembered, because Brody had come home and broken down in tears because it had been quite triggering for the kids hear. Brody had always been a sensitive kid. "Can I absolutely trust you that none of what I saw here goes beyond this car?"
Cruz nodded, still looking at Hunter with a concerned frown. "I signed a confidentiality thing with Mark, as to Justin's privacy. He asked if I minded doing that, now he knew you and I were seeing each other. I had absolutely no issue with it at all. Not when you and Mark both have my privacy and best interests at heart. So, honestly, I wouldn't say anything at all anyway, because I know how priceless privacy is, but even if I did, he'd ruin me. I wouldn't. Not a kid's privacy. Especially not a kid who harms himself."
Hunter briefly closed his eyes, though only for a moment because he was still watching the road ahead. "Justin was sexually abused as child. It went on for many months when he was about eight or nine years old. It was one of his biological mother's many boyfriends. He's incredibly scarred by it, and it is absolutely why his mental illness is so severe. It caused him PTSD. He's been a messed up kid his whole life. None of this is public. This is what he referenced in his speech the other night. Then when he started Footloose, one of the guys who was cast in a supporting role sexual assaulted him. It triggered a bad psychotic episode. Justin got arrested before he was diagnosed with psychosis. All charges were dropped when the story started to come to light. The guy was a serial rapist. He's behind bars now. It's a long and complex story that I'll tell you about one day. It's all interlinked with the Lincoln Cole stabbing. Justin didn't tell anyone what the guy was doing to him because he was terrified he would lose the role. He let it keep going. That's what he said to me in his text tonight. That this rumour with Brody sounded like what happened to him. He also said he thought Brody might be cutting."
"You... you mean, the teacher assaulted Brody, not the other way around?" Cruz was reeling with these reveals coming from Hunter. Never in a million years would he have picked Justin as a sexual abuse survivor, but suddenly so much made sense. Justin had said there were reasons he was as sick as he was, but didn't say what. Cruz's stomach turned. "How can anyone do that to a kid? Fuck. That's why you need to get to Brody now. Before anything serious happens."
Hunter just nodded silently. It took a little bit before he replied. They were on a dark stretch of road. The mood was fitting. "Justin nearly suicided because of what happened. He couldn't see a way out. He cut his wrists for the first time. It wasn't too long after he got to New York. It was what lead to the bipolar diagnosis, ultimately. It was Mark's first experience with the severity of it. This is why Justin has such tight security and management. If he feels threatened or gets touched in a way he can't cope with, it triggers his fight or flight, and could push him into a psychotic episode. When he's had those, he's nearly jumped off balconies, or run in front of cars. He nearly strangled Mark in he cop shop. It's a literal snap he has. It's terrifying, but he doesn't remember it after it's happened. That's why I'm scared. Not because I think Brody is mentally ill, but because he might not see a way out if someone has hurt him. It would be his word against hers, and Brody's had a bit of a bad rap when his ego got a bit inflated."
"I noticed Justin had tattoos on his wrists. I think you're doing the right thing. Trying to get to him as soon as you heard about all this. You're panicked and terrified, I know. But he's your baby brother, and I know you'll try to help him as much as you can. You're not just picking up a phone and interrogating him about whether it happened. You're not assuming the rumour is true. Sometimes when shit is spiralling out of control, all you need is someone to listen to you or ask if you're okay when you're not," Cruz murmured. He didn't have siblings, so he couldn't know the depth of all this. Not directly. But he knew Hunter had been there for him in his darkest hour. "Don't beat yourself up with guilt, babe. I know that's easier said than done. If there's anything I can do..."
Hunter glanced at Cruz and then was cracking the window a little so he could have a cigarette. He didn't have a bad habit, but he smoked socially, or when he was stressed. He was definitely stressed. "Light up for me? Justin's ink on his wrists are lyrics to the Footloose song. It's ultimately what pulled him back, but yeah, they cover scars." He waited while Cruz lit the cigarette for him and then took it from him between his fingers to take a long drag. He blew the smoke out the window, and handed the cigarette back to Cruz so they could share it. "There is actually something. I just didn't want you to think it was the only reason I asked you to come. Brodes is a huge fan of yours. I'm kind of hoping you might be a bit of a buffer to help him engage with me."
Cruz had to admit he was needing a smoke himself but he didn't want to assume he could light up in Hunter's car. He wound his own window down slightly to vacuum the smoke out, and nodded as he put the cigarette to his lips. He tried not to think how sexy it was to see Hunter smoke for the first time. Now was not the time for that. "Sure. Just, like, sit there and be present type thing?"
Hunter smirked faintly at that. "At any other time, that would probably work. I was hoping you would be okay if I told him how we met, and that we're dating now. I... think Brody might have had a crush on another dancer. Possibly still does. But this other kid already has a boyfriend. I suspected it awhile back, but I didn't want to draw attention to if it he was confused. When he told us he thought maybe he might like guys, I wondered then. I don't know if all that is compounding on what is already upsetting. I just don't know."
"One of Justin's friends? Fuck, messy," Cruz agreed with a slight wince, holding the cigarette to Hunter's lips again for him.
"Yeah, a kid called Harry. He and Brody got into a punch-up at a dance competition." Hunter inhaled again from the cigarette, happy to let Cruz keep holding it. "Harry's a scarily talented ballet dancer. They were competing against each other at a National competition, and Harry beat Brody by quite a few points with a routine that was never got going to win. Ballet's a lot more technical than Hip Hop, and Harry's been dancing since he was basically a fetus. He was trained by one of the top male dancers in the world. Brody lost his shit when he was beaten and accused Harry of winning because he danced to a live recording Justin did for him of Chandelier. Justin said he could use it as thanks for Harry helping him with a flashmob. Brody worked so fucking hard on his routine, and Harry beat him. I think if he was crushing on Harry, getting beat by him was a hard blow. Then, of course, Harry hated him."
Cruz's heart was going out more and more for Brody right now. The poor kid sounded like he took a lot of hits that probably confused the fuck out of him and made him question everything about himself. "And Harry's in this squad of Justin's? You know, that could be why he's not fitting in. It might feel awkward as fuck for him if he still has these feelings for Harry, and Harry's dating someone else. Unrequited love fucking sucks. It's one of the worst feelings in the world, especially when you're a kid."
"Then compound on that a dance teacher potentially assaulting him, feeling he's losing his identity as a dancer, confused about his sexuality. Fuck, do you know how glad I am Justin contacted me, but I feel fucking sick inside for not seeing this. I'm trying not to let it eat me up, but it's not working," Hunter said and when he started to tear up, he actually had to pull over onto the side of the road and put his hazard lights on when his vision blurred up. He gripped the steering wheel and leaned over, resting his forehead against his knuckles. "This is what I do, and I couldn't even see it in my own little brother?"
Cruz stubbed the cigarette out on the sole of his boot and flicked the butt out the window. "Come here," he said softly and coaxed Hunter into a hug. "You're seeing it, babe. How were you to know? You're a fantastic nurse and youth worker, but fuck, you're not a mind reader. Let yourself off the hook, or this will eat you up and you'll cockblock yourself from being able to help him in the best way you can."
"I'm so fucking tired," Hunter mumbled in against Cruz's shoulder.
"Let's just stop here for an hour and you take a nap. Sixty more minutes won't make a difference and you'll get a second wind to go the rest of the way. Okay?" Cruz suggested, hoping like fuck Hunter wouldn't disagree. "You can just kick your chair back and get a kip, then we'll keep going. I'll wake you in an hour. Trust me? You've been doing nights, you're going to burn out."
Hunter sat back and sighed, rubbing his eyes slowly. "Okay. It's probably a good idea. I'm getting a fucking headache."
Cruz took his wallet out and pulled a strip of Tylenol from it. He snapped two of them into Hunter's palm. "Catch it now before it gets worse." He was taking his hoodie off too then, and balled it up for Hunter to use as a pillow."
Hunter swallowed the pills and cranked his seat back down as far as it would go, flicking his seatbelt off to try to get a bit more comfortable. He didn't know if he could wind his brain down to sleep, but he would try at least. He took Cruz's hand to hold and closed his eyes, trying to will himself to sleep. Cruz was right. He couldn't be stupid about this, and Vermont was five hours from home.
Cruz fell quiet, turning to his side in his seat and rested his head against the back of it. He sat there watching Hunter try to get some shut-eye. Even if he just managed ten minutes, it would be better than nothing. He was watching him so intently, he could tell the exact moment Hunter dozed off, his breath evening out and deepening. He was pretty sure in that moment that what he was feeling inside was the faint echo that he was beginning to fall in love with Hunter. He couldn't explain any of this, nor would he try. All he knew was that everything Hunter had just shared with him requested such a deep level of trust... trust that he clearly had in Cruz.
LOG, COMPLETE